Our Personal, Ultimate IntercessorSample

Jesus prays with His disciples

The more penetrating our probe of Jesus’ prayer life, the more our love grows for Him. Matthew 26:38-39: “Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

Jesus never found a wrong time to pray. Luke 10:17-21: “The seventy-two returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.’ ...Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.”

Jesus took His closest followers on a prayer retreat. We usually just hear it called the transfiguration without any mention of prayer, but the purpose was prayer, as Luke 9:28-32 makes clear: “About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor...they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.”

The face of Jesus glowed with the glory of God when God let three of His disciples see Him as He really is. In the same way, the more we are in the presence of God, the more we will reflect His glory. See it in 2 Corinthians 3:18: “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

Reflection: Are we comfortable praying with our families and with those God has entrusted to us?